Tonight`s lead. Republicans trying to tank the economy again. Today, President Obama called out the GOP for refusing to stop catastrophic budget cuts due to hit next Friday. Cuts that could derail our entire economy. These cuts were never supposed to have happened. They were designed to be so awful that even Republicans would see the light in compromise on a budget deal before they could take effect. But the GOP refused.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These cuts are not smart. They are not fair. They will hurt our economy. They will add hundreds of thousands of Americans to the unemployment rolls. This is not an abstraction. People will lose their jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: People will lose their jobs. These cuts will effect huge parts of the economy and cripple essential government services that millions of people rely on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Emergency responders like the ones who are here today, their ability to help communities respond to and recover from disasters will be degraded.

Border patrol agents will see their hours reduced. FBI agents will be furloughed. Federal prosecutors will have to close cases and let criminals go. Air traffic controllers and airport security will see cutbacks which means more delays at airports across the country. Thousands of teachers and educators will be laid off. Tens of thousands of parents will have to scramble to find childcare for their kids. Hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose access to primary care and preventive care like flu vaccinations and cancer screenings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: This is serious. This will affect people all across the country. But Republicans are refusing to act. They are unwilling to ask corporations and the rich to pay their fair share.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: They would rather have these cuts go into effect than close a single tax loophole for the wealthiest Americans. Not one. It`s wrong to ask the middle class to bear the full burden of deficit reduction. And that`s why I will not sign a plan that harms the middle class.

So, now Republicans in Congress face a simple choice. Are they willing to compromise to protect vital investments in education, in health care, national security, and all the jobs that depend on them or would they rather put hundreds of thousands of jobs and our entire economy at risk just to protect a few special interest tax loopholes that benefit only the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations? That`s the choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: The president is not going to let Republicans off the hook. He`s not going to just stand by and let these cuts happen. The White House says that in the next ten days, he is going to travel around the country to shame Republicans into action. Holding an event after event with real people affected by these cuts.

But if these horrific cuts do happen, you know who to thank. If you wait longer at the airport, thank the Republicans. If your child`s teacher is laid off, thank Republicans. If you can`t get a flu shot or cancer screening, thank Republicans. And if you lose your job, you better believe you can thank the Republicans.

Joining me now are Richard Wolffe and Nia-Malika Henderson.

Richard, the president wants a short-term fix to these cuts before next Friday. Can he shame the Republicans into it? And I want people to understand, we`re talking about next Friday. This is not by and by in some far-off time period. We`re talking about next Friday.

RICHARD WOLFFE, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. I don`t think he`s going to shame them in time. I think ultimately he will shame them. Either he`s going to shame them in the next month or the next several weeks or he is going to shame them into defeat in 2014.

Make no mistake. This is the 2014 battleground shaping up right now. None of these things when we are talking about these real-life situations are things you would ever thought Republicans would give up ground. We are talking about first responders. We are talking about security. This was the party of George W. Bush.

SHARPTON: National security.

WOLFFE: Right. So they are going to suffer a lot of pain. I don`t think they are ready to take this on right now. I don`t think the president has enough time to get them to that point. And it may honestly take two years for it to happen. My guess, though, is at some point in the next several weeks this will happen. But not by Friday.

SHARPTON: Nia-Malika, when you look at speaker Boehner`s reaction to the president`s speech today that I played parts of, let me show you what the speaker said.

He says the revenue debate is now closed. Spending is the problem.

So, he doesn`t even want to discuss closing the loopholes and dealing with tax revenue. We are just going to deal with spending.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Right. And that has always been his stance. And that is certainly the assistance of house Republican plan that has been floated over these last couple of days. And it looks at spending programs. It looks at cutting revenue or cutting spending from antipoverty programs. And that`s why you see the president very much trying to put a human face on some of the cuts that the Republicans are proposing here.

I think the president is really owning this conversation. You have a situation where Congress is on vacation. They`ll be on vacation over this next week, over the next couple of days. And they have until Friday.

I think you put it very well. I think there was a sense from Americans that this was sort of far off in the distance. And the sense that this is bearing down on us at this point and looks very likely. The president is smart, I think, to go on the road and really paint the Republicans in a bad light. They have of course been saying it`s the president who hasn`t been willing to work. But they are the ones who are out and about not on the hill working on this at this point.

But I do think we have a situation where there is a huge divide in terms of what the president wants and what Republicans want. And it doesn`t look like this gap is going to be able to close any time soon.

SHARPTON: And again, this is imminent. We are talking about ten days, next Friday. And Congress is on vacation. They are not even there until next week.

And when we are talking about loopholes, Richard, and we`re talking about tax deductions, let`s show people what we`re talking about. Oil and gas subsidies, $94 billion. Corporate jets and yachts. This is some of the loopholes, $4 billion. Hedge fund managers, $17 billion.

I mean, aren`t the Republicans fine with spending as long as it`s spending on tax breaks that help the rich?

WOLFFE: Well, pretty soon you are talking about real money.

You know, this does add up to a lot. Of course, in the context of the overall deficit, even that small amount of dollars. But when you look at the real spending cuts that they`re putting into place here that will come into force, no matter what the finger pointing is, none of those things are popular. So Republicans come into this and say you know what? People, I say, doesn`t want any tax rises no matter what it is, as I only want spending cuts. But when you make it real, real taxes going up on those kinds of loopholes and real spending cuts for things like first responders, the politics aren`t even close.

SHARPTON: How do we balance first responders to loopholes for yachts and jets? I mean, let`s be serious. And then they are the party, Nia-Malika, of national security?

Well, let`s listen to what the president said the effect this will have on the military in ten days if we go into sequester.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: And already the threat of these cuts has forced the Navy to delay an aircraft carrier that was supposed to deploy to the Persian Gulf. And as our military leaders have made clear. Changes like this, not well thought through, not fazed in properly, changes like this effect our ability to respond to threats in unstable parts of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Now, this is the party, Nia-Malika, of national security. How would they let this happen?

HENDERSON: Well, one of the things you are seeing already is Democrats are targeting some of these representatives in these states. States like Virginia, very heavily reliant on military and military contractors. Also, they are very much prepared to make this a 2014 issue.

Interestingly enough, Mitt Romney actually campaigned against the sequester. Tried to blame it on president Obama and said it would be awful if it took into effect. Republicans haven`t necessarily taken that up in these recent conversations. And they feel like it`ll give them a chance to make some cuts and to force the president`s hand.

But again, you have the president really filling the vacuum here and really framing this debate in a way that Republicans haven`t been able to so far.

SHARPTON: But, Richard, when you look at how it will hurt the economy, when you look at first responders, teachers, people in the military, the Pentagon. I mean, when you look at that and you`re balancing it off against oil and gas subsidies, yachts and corporate jet loopholes, I mean, come on. Do they really think the American people are stupid?

WOLFFE: Well, even beyond that politics -- I completely agree with how you set it up, but beyond that politics, remember the reason we got to this point was because Republicans wanted to push us over the debt-ceiling crisis, threaten default. And these cuts were supposed to be the things that Republicans wouldn`t want to do.

SHARPTON: Right.

WOLFFE: So, if Republicans won`t stop us weakening the national security position of the United States, then what do Republicans actually stand for? They have an even bigger problem than just dealing with first responders.

What do Republicans think are important? If it`s not national security, if it is not the cuts they were supposed to stop from happening, then where do they draw the line? And the answer is Republicans just don`t know what they are standing up for anymore.

SHARPTON: And it looks like they`re willing to let it go, I mean, right now. The odds are, Nia-Malika, between slim and none. And slim is on vacation until next week.

HENDERSON: That`s right. There is just not enough time, I think, to come up with some sort of compromise where Boehner can get his caucus in line to support something. So it doesn`t - you know, it`s a surprise, I think, that we`ve come to this point. They wanted to kick it down the road until march rather than going into effect around the fiscal cliff.

But I think the Republicans are facing the reality. They buckled under the fiscal cliff and break with the rule and have a minority of folks support that. They are just facing this recent sequester in saying they don`t want to buckle.

I think also you have a situation where Americans don`t quite look at this in the way that they looked at the fiscal cliff. There hasn`t been the same sort of doomsday, the sky is falling rhetoric around this. And that is why I think what the president did today was so important because I think it is shifting the tone of this. And there is this doomsday scenario, millions of people now could lose their jobs.

SHARPTON: Richard, Nia-Malika, thanks for your time tonight.

HENDERSON: Thank you.

WOLFFE: Thank you.

SHARPTON: Coming up, a tragedy touching the nation. An 18-year-old girl -- 18-year-old mother gunned down near Chicago. This is an American gun crisis we are facing. Her mother joins us next.

And they pretend there is no war on women, but wait until you see what Scott Walker did today.

Plus, look out Rush Limbaugh. He is being called out by a conservative and I`m applauding.

Plus, the one and only Maya Angelou joins "Politics Nation," the iconic author and activist on disrespect of President Obama and more.

Big show ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Have you joined the "Politics Nation" conversation on facebook yet? We hope you will.

Today, this newly released photo of the president editing his inauguration speech was a big hit. We asked folks to tell us their favorite line from any Obama speech.

That last line came from the president`s state of the union address when he invoked the memory of Hadiya Pendleton, insisting Congress o owes her parents action on gun violence.

What do you think? Please head over to facebook and search "Politics Nation" and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: What happened to Hadiya is not unique. It`s not unique to Chicago. It`s not unique to this country. Too many of our children are being taken away from us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: President Obama in Chicago last week talking about the epidemic of gun violence sweeping his hometown.

Just hours after the speech, 18-year-old Janay McFarland was gunned down and killed in north Chicago on her way to the store. She was with her friends when she was shot. Earlier that day, Janay`s youngest sister stood just behind President Obama as he talked and made that speech about the need for gun control.

Janay was the mother of a 3-month-old baby boy Jayden. She was going to graduate high school in June.

I`m joined now by Janay`s mother Angela Blakely.

Miss Blakely, first I want to say how sorry I am for your loss.

ANGELA BLAKELY, JANAY MCFARLAND`S MOTHER: Thank you.

SHARPTON: And I know that you are just going through the viewing. The funeral is a couple days off. But you wanted to come and lend your voice even in your pain to putting attention on this issue of gun violence that has robbed your daughter. Tell us the type of person Janay was.

BLAKELY: Janay was -- pardon me.

SHARPTON: Just take your time. We understand.

BLAKELY: Janay was a beautiful person. She was fun loving. She was like the life of the party to be around. She always loved to dance. Always loved to make people smile. Even in my times of, you know, me being a little mad or frustrated with Janay, she would always do something to make me laugh or smile all the time because that was my buddy. That was my baby, you know. She couldn`t stand for me to be mad with her or anything.

And so, my daughter was a wonderful person. She just so happened to, you know, been at the wrong place at the wrong time or befriend the wrong person.

SHARPTON: Now, she was not a troubled child. This was not someone that was hanged in the streets there. Because one of the things I think people around the country need to know is we`re talking about innocent young people that have future in front of them. And she had a 3-month-old child.

BLAKELY: Yes, she did. Janay used to always tell me, you know, mom, you know, she had a love of being a hair stylist. But she, you know, she explained to me mom, I want to do something else. I think I want to do culinary arts. And she was, you know, she explained to me, she said mom, I don`t ever want to be another teenage mom that`s not out here doing anything because, you know, because everybody keeps explaining to me it`s going to be so hard. But I`m going to be something big and I`m going to raise my son because she has always loved children.

She, Janay, knew she was going to have children way ahead of, you know, her time. She always spent special time with her nieces and nephews. And they are truly hurt over this and they just cannot believe it.

SHARPTON: Now, I had the mother of Hadiya Pendelton on who wanted to raise attention just like you have come on bravely. She came on the show before the funeral. And I am told that you and Janay actually talked about what happened to Hadiya Pendelton. And Janay`s younger sister was actually standing as one of the children behind President Obama when he made that speech last week. She was actually on the stage standing behind him and that night after she witnessed the president`s speech and stood there behind him is when this happened to her older sister Janay.

BLAKELY: Yes. That`s correct because, you know, that day, Destiny or Janay were not suppose to go to school that day. They had, there, you know, their annual physicals. But destiny begged and pleaded with mom, Let me go to school. I`m going to meet the president. And you know, they have always loved President Obama, so, she was really excited to meet him. She was like, mom, can you just, you know, change the appointment to another date. And I said that`s fine. I`ll change the appointment to another date.

And I just -- I don`t know. I just cannot believe this. This is just -- this is ridiculous, you know. My child was a very sweet child. And to go on such a senseless manner, it makes no sense. You know, I understand life has to end, I get that. But, why my child had to leave like this, I don`t understand that.

SHARPTON: Those out there that have to deal with this gun violence and those that say well it doesn`t matter. We all need to have guns. What do you as a mother who just lost a child, a sweet child as you describe her, what do you say to them as this grieving mother?

BLAKELY: No, we don`t all need guns because guns -- they don`t need to be in the hands of everyone. Because some people are careless with the guns. Some people, you know, use it in a senseless manner. They don`t know what they`re doing. And people are not really realizing the damage that guns can really do.

SHARPTON: Angela Blakely, we are praying for you first of all. And we send our condolences to all your family. Thank you for having the courage to join us tonight.

BLAKELY: Thank you so much. You have a great one.

SHARPTON: Thank you.

BLAKELY: Bye-bye.

SHARPTON: Let me say that many people around the country don`t understand the pain that mothers and fathers and relatives feel when young people that just happen to be in the way of a bullet intended for whatever leave here. Mass killing babies in Newtown. It`s time for us to deal with the reality that there is no excuse for us to have this in society.

I wrestle with when we brought on Hadiya Pendleton`s mother and brought on this mother and say well, we don`t want them in their pain even though they want to bring the issue out. But the ones that are really adding to their pain is not those of us that allowing them to say what they want to say. It`s those who tell them to shut up. I have the right to bear any arms I want and any magazine.

You are the one adding to the pain of this country. You need to stop.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Even though they keep pushing anti-choice bills, Republicans swear there`s no such thing as a war on women.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: The Democrats said we had a war on caterpillars and every media outlet talks about the fact that Republican have a war on caterpillars, then, we have a problem with caterpillars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This war on women that supposedly the GOP is waging.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Give me a break. This is the latest plank in the so-called war on women. Entirely created -- entirely created by my colleagues across the aisle for political gain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Entirely created? Really? What`s created about the silence in the house on the violence against women act? And where`s the straw man in Wisconsin where`s governor Scott Walker slashed funding for Planned Parenthood?

Now, four clinics are closing. Women will no longer have access to women`s health care. In Alabama, the house passed a so-called abortion safety bill today. In reality, it would make it a felony for a nurse, nurse practitioner, or physician`s assistant to dispense abortion-inducing medications. A felony.

In Arkansas another bill advanced this week. And in North Dakota the Republican Senate passed the bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks. These attacks on women`s health care are real and dangerous.

Did the right wing think they could pretend their war on women doesn`t exist? Nice try, but we got you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: If you`re a Republican and you mess with the Tea Party, you become a wanted man. A Tea Party-backed group is offering $10,000 for ideal to take over the Republican Party. And to oust big government establishment Republicans led by Karl Rove.

That`s right. Even though Americans rejected the Tea Party agenda last fall, they won`t be silenced. And Glenn Beck is leading the charge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLENN BECK, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I think the Republicans have betrayed their own values for so long. And there`s a lot of people like me that tried to push, you know, the Republican Party into maybe, hey, why don`t you have some common sense here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Wow. Nothing says common sense like Glenn Beck. Right?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: I am sure that the Republicans will become less and less relevant as every day that goes by. They`re becoming if not already the wig party. The Republicans are the ones that have been saying that we have to become more moderate. More moderate, are you kidding me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Don`t worry. The Tea Party folks are making sure the Republicans don`t become more moderate. Any time soon. Just look at the lineup at this year`s CPAC. There`s Rick Santorum. He`s writing for the blog that thinks Obama is a Muslim Gay Kenyan.

Allen West. He saw communist in Congress. Rand Paul. He thinks Healthcare is slavery. And of course Sarah Palin, the momma grizzly is coming out of hibernation. That`s right. Republicans, the Tea Party is still sheriff in the GOP.

Joining me now are Krystal Ball and Angela Rye. Thank you both for coming on the show tonight.

KRYSTAL BALL, MSNBC CO-HOST, "THE CYCLE": Thanks for having us, Rev.

SHARPTON: Krystal, they choke me up when I talk about the Tea Party.

BALL: I feel you.

SHARPTON: But try as they might establish, the Republicans can`t seem to escape the Tea Party`s influence, can they?

BALL: No. I mean, it`s really interesting what`s happening right now. And I think partly even though there is a sense among some of the, what you would call more establishment Republicans, that they`ve got to do something. They have to change the demographic realities that they`re facing or else they are going to be like the Whig Party like Glenn Beck put it and totally irrelevant.

They have for so long defined themselves by they are opposition to. But they don`t know what they`re for anymore. Their first instinct is always jut to oppose the President, oppose whatever the Democrats are saying. So, things like, you know, they can`t do anything on the environment. Because anything that is Cap and Trade is off the table.

On immigration, anything that`s amnesty is off the table. On tax reform, anything that raises revenue is off the table. But what`s on the table. And that`s the thing they haven`t figured out. What are we actually going to be for as a party?

SHARPTON: And they`re getting way out there, Angela. Because today a top Tea Party group send out a fund raising e-mail featuring an image of Karl Rove in a Nazi uniform. I mean, we haven`t seen that kind of venom other than at President Obama. So the group later apologized saying the image was added by accident. But, I mean, they`re like just coming on strong at anybody that would question their hold on where the policies and imagery of the Republican Party is going.

ANGELA RYE, PRINCIPAL, IMPACT STRATEGIES: Sure. I think the other issue you have are the folks who are their messengers. They think that if they just change the message, then the message will become more palatable.

BALL: Right.

RYE: You`re seeing that with, you know, FOX News were released Sarah Palin but they`ve got Herman Cain. You see that with the Tea Party saying, they`re going to have Ted Cruz and Senator Rubio out from immigration. But at the end of the day it`s the same old tired political policies and nobody is for them. To Krystal`s point. So, at the end of the day, they really have to determine what is not only their message, but what are the policies that they represent.

SHARPTON: You know, Terry Branstad, the Iowa republican governor really told Rove`s Super PAC to stay out of the Senate race there. He told AP in a quote, "I basically told Karl Rove that what he was doing is counterproductive and he needs to stay out of it. If some outside group that has no connection to Iowa attacks somebody from Iowa, that is not smart."

BALL: Well, I love how suddenly Republicans are coming out against outside spending in their state. It was all fine and good when it was benefiting them. And I think also Governor Branstad wants to keep that power in his hands in terms of who gets in the primary and who`s successful in the primary there. But Rove`s group, at least they are recognizing that there is a problem, that they need to have more mainstream and electable candidates.

But let`s keep in mind that the problem for the more mainstream republican candidates is not that they don`t have money. They have plenty of money. The problem is that this Tea Party Todd Akin types.

SHARPTON: Yes.

BALL: Steve King types do have money now. And that`s not changing. What they need to do -- and again, Karl Rove and others were perfectly happy to ride that Tea Party wave as long as it was benefiting them. But now that that Tiger has turned around and is coming back and biting them, they`re trying to figure out how to move away. They have to really figure out a message, policies that make sense to people. That`s the only way that the Republican Party is going to move forward.

SHARPTON: Now, last night Angela, on Bill O`Reilly`s show, Glenn Beck, he was asked by O`Reilly who he would support for president in 2016. I`m sure you were waiting with bated breath to find out what Beck was going to say. Let me show you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL O`REILLY, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: I support Rand Paul, he is a republican but he is a small government constitution.

BECK: How about Marco Rubio? You know what? I haven`t made my mind up on Marco Rubio yet.

O`REILLY: So it`s a consideration. You like Rand Paul. How about Christie? Jersey guy?

BECK: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: So, Christie, who worked with the President around saving hurricane victims in his devastated state, no good. Rubio with all what he`s trying to do, no good. And I guess he can get some more water now. Rand Paul, fine. So these guys are not going to disappear on the far, far right Tea Party types. And Glenn beck wants to be a real hero of spokespersons I suppose.

RYE: Well, I don`t know. I don`t really care about what Glenn Beck has to say or who he`s supporting, but at the end of the day, I think that the division in the party is speaking volumes to this over-arching issue they have not only with again, messaging but their overall policies. There`s this article that talks about the Tea Party is going to go out on a bus tour.

SHARPTON: Right.

RYE: But what are they going to tout on a bus tour? Again, the same tired policies. They`re going to have a Spanish language version of their website --

BALL: Of their tired policies.

RYE: Right. Of their tired policies. You`re going to tell people --

SHARPTON: Same thing they said last year but it`s in Spanish.

RYE: Yes.

SHARPTON: Like that changes things.

RYE: And not only that, but if you tell someone that I`m going to mess over you, your family, and your community in Spanish, it doesn`t make the message any more palatable, right. At some point, you`ve got to come out with some new --

BALL: Yes. And I have to say, I think Rand Paul could be a big problem for the Republican Party.

SHARPTON: Yes.

BALL: Looking forward to 2016, I mean, he has already expressed interest in the White House. And I think they`re going to have a similar problem with him in a primary pulling everybody to the right. He`s going to have a built-in base. He is not like his dad who`s the sort of perennial candidate and not really serious. He is a bit more politically savvy and will have a bit more attraction in a primary. I think he could be a real problem.

SHARPTON: But let me say this before we run out of time, your co-host and conservative columnist. Your colleague S.E. Cupp says in a column today that she will not apologize for urging Republicans to call out Rush Limbaugh and his outrageous comments. She writes, quote, "Some demanded I apologize. Others implied I just committed career suicide. Others still politely suggested I commit actual suicide. I`ll end the suspense for some. There will be no apology. If you think I`m going to apologize for suggesting that it might be OK to disagree with a radio host sometimes, you don`t know me at all."

BALL: Yes.

SHARPTON: That was really courageous, I thought.

BALL: Very courageous of her. And I have to say I was recalling back to when Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke a slut and a prostitute.

SHARPTON: Right.

BALL: And the Republican Party with silent and Mitt Romney said, it`s not the language I would have chosen. If only they would have had at least a little bit of courage making people feel like they stand up for just decent, respectful language if nothing else.

SHARPTON: That`s right.

BALL: So, I think S.E. is absolutely right. They can`t be afraid in rebuilding the Republican Party to take on some of these old, historical party leaders who are really pulling the party out of the mainstream.

RYE: Even Joe Scarborough today in his column talked about Rush Limbaugh being one in six on the last presidential elections. Again, they can continue to have someone that is kind of the other side of media to counter liberal media as they put it. But at the end of the day all that`s resonating and making them a lot of money isn`t what`s necessarily making sense for the country.

SHARPTON: Well, you see where they brought the politics of this country. Angela Rye on my show quoting Joe Scarborough. Krystal Ball and Angela Rye, thank you for your time this evening.

BALL: Thank you, Rev.

RYE: Thanks, Reverend.

SHARPTON: Don`t forget to catch Krystal on "THE CYCLE" week days at 3:00 p.m. right here on MSNBC.

Still ahead, my interview with the legendary right activist Maya Angelou. What she says about the Republicans disrespect for President Obama.

Plus, Tiger in chief. The golfing legend reveals who won his big game with the President.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: He`s been out of D.C. for a month, but Scott Brown is considering a run for governor so he`s talking about those awkward late night tweets. You all remember when he sent out some with typos, engaging a follower in a twitter fight. Including this now-infamous tweet with the phrase "bqhatevwr." I guess. That`s what he was saying. And all of us had fun with it anyway. And it went viral. But now he`s explaining exactly what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. SEN. SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS: Anyone ever hear of a pocket tweet? Pocket dial? It was pretty simple. You know, I have an iPhone 5. Actually, where is it? And if anyone has an iPhone 5, the keys are small. It`s very, very sensitive. And it was teaching me how to obviously get on Facebook and Twitter. And there were areas I didn`t really understand.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: So, you`re saying that it was just a mistake?

BROWN: What else could it be? I`m just randomly pressing numbers and throwing it out there?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Pocket tweet. OK. But some on the internet said he might have been tweeting while drunk. Your response, Mr. Brown?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: First of all, I rarely drink. The last time I was ever drunk was my bachelor party. That was what? Twenty eight years ago? Twenty seven years ago? So I guess no one has ever pocket dialed or pocket tweeted before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: OK, Scott. Whatever. Whatever you say. I guess.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: The career of iconic writer and activist Maya Angelou has expand -- has spanned across decades. She`s best known for her breakthrough novel "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" published in 1969. It`s been required reading for millions making "Time" magazine`s list of the 100 best and most influential books. In 1993 Angelou read a poem at President Clinton`s inauguration.

A year later, her recording of that poem won a Grammy. Today, Angelou continues to reach audiences worldwide. Her black history month radio special "Telling our Stories" includes interviews with an eclectic mix of activists and entertainers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYA ANGELOU, WRITER AND ACTIVIST: Alicia Keys.

ALICIA KEYS, SINGER: Somewhere deep down inside of me, I relate very much to gospel music.

ANGELOU: Oprah Winfrey.

OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: I believed that this calling that I feel so deeply inside myself was to go beyond one show.

ANGELOU: And Kofi Annan.

KOFI ANNAN, FORMER SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS: All the cruel and brutal things, even genocide starts with the humiliation of one individual.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: I`m honored to be joined by acclaimed poet, activist, actress, professor, icon, the great Dr. Maya Angelou. It`s my pleasure to have you here tonight.

ANGELOU: Oh, I thank you for that. You`ve made me sound so good, and I like it like that.

SHARPTON: Let me ask you, Dr. Angelou. You are an inspiration for so many people. Who inspires you?

ANGELOU: Well, I`ve been blessed to have had had a grandmother who raised me and a mother and a brother. And they all loved me. They didn`t indulge me. But they loved me. And I believe that love heals. Not indulgence and that means sentimentality. But I mean, that condition that`s so powerful in the human spirit that it may be what causes the blood to continue to race artery in our veins. That`s what allowed me to have enough courage to be somebody.

SHARPTON: Now, you`ve had an amazing life and you said you still feel connected to young people. Explain that.

ANGELOU: In my work whether it`s in speaking or teaching or writing or singing or -- I continue to say to young people you have been cared for. You have already been paid for. And so that they would know that they`re worth everything. Women are worth more than being called the "B" word. And blacks are worth more than being called the "N" word. And everybody, I mean, no matter what the age group, no matter what the race group, you`re better than the word that would deny your humanity.

SHARPTON: Now, talking about disrespect, you supported President Obama in the last election. How do you feel about the disrespect some on the far right and others have shown him and his presidency?

ANGELOU: It`s terrible. It just shows that there`s a lot of people who really want us to continue to be these yet to be United States. It is so stupid. I mean, he`s shown himself to be intelligent, and that doesn`t mean educated nor does it mean intellectual. But really intelligent. It means that he knows enough to care about everybody, be the president of everybody.

White people`s president, Black people, Asian, Spanish speaking Native-American, gay and straight president of everybody. And so when I see the -- those people who want to continue to keep us polarized, I think how stupid. Are we really going to continue to be that thick, that dense?

SHARPTON: Now, black history month, you`ve done this special. Why should blacks celebrate or even in any way commemorate black history month? If I`m white, if I`m Latino, if I`m Asian watching you, what should black history month mean to me?

ANGELOU: Well, it means that we are at our very best, we are respectful of each other. And Black people lasts too many young black men and women don`t know that they`ve already been paid for. Don`t know some of the great men and women who have lived in this world and paid for them already. And this is true for -- I mean, I think -- I know that it`s important for black young men and women.

I think it`s imperative for young white men and women. You see, only equals make friends. Any other relationship is out of order. So we`re more alike than we are unalike. And when you know that, then you can make a relationship that helps us all to be kinder, truer to each other, more courteous.

SHARPTON: The problem of gun violence has played this country at its escalated recently. And you`ve given comfort to families I know, you comforted the family of Trayvon Martin. And it`s a thing that I`ve gone through for decades dealing with victims of gun violence whether race related or not. What do you say to Americans about gun violence as we see this debate raging now in the Congress and around our country about guns?

ANGELOU: We have the right to respect and protect our children. And we ought to do so. And we ought to look at the guns which allow the mad man and the mad woman to kill off 200 of our children or 50 of our children or 20 or one. We have to look at that and say now, really, do we really have enough nerve to say stop it? Stop it. This won`t do.

SHARPTON: The black history month special you do is in its third year. Tell me about your guests this year.

ANGELOU: This year we have wonderful guests. We have Alicia Keys who is so brilliant. And we have Kofi Annan who was the ambassador to United Nations from Ghana. We have Jennifer Hudson. We have men and women, I mean, who have lived through some terrible experiences but who are saying to us I care for you. I respect you, I appreciate you.

SHARPTON: Dr. Maya Angelou, thank you so much for being here tonight.

ANGELOU: Thank you. I`m so proud of you and so grateful for the man you are.

SHARPTON: Thank you.

ANGELOU: And that you respect us and care for us. Thank you.

SHARPTON: Thank you so much. Dr. Maya Angelou.

Tiger Woods on his match with the President. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SHARPTON: Tiger Woods is talking about his big round with the president. So Tiger, how did this all happen?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, GOLFER: Yes, he calls up and says, hey tiger you want to play?

(LAUGHTER)

OK. No. Obviously there is a process that`s involved. And I was invited to play. And it was a -- it was an invitation that certainly you don`t turn down. And especially being he`s an avid golfer and, you know, so am I. So, we went out there and we just had a great round of golf with Ron and Jim. And it was a good day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: OK. But we all wanted to know how did the President play?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOODS: He hit the ball well. And he got an amazing touch. He can certainly chip and putt. If he ever spent -- after these four years if he spends more time playing the game of golf, I`m sure he can get to where he`s a pretty good stick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: So Tiger, level with us. Did you let the President win?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOODS: Playing with Mr. President was pretty cool. He is just a wonderful person to be around. And we won. He was my partner. And as I said, we won.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHARPTON: Well, it`s good to be president. You can pick Tiger Woods to be your partner. It was a good day of bonding. Much better than the last time the President picked his golf partner. You`re getting better taste, Mr. President. But you know it`s not fair when you can get Tiger Woods against two. But I`m going to play the young guys at POLITICS NATION. As soon as Kobe Bryant has a free day to be my partner.

Thanks for watching. I`m Al Sharpton. "HARDBALL" starts right now.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. END

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